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12th September 2024
03:26pm BST
Our TV movie pick for tonight (Thursday, 12 September) is Cop Land, the star-studded '90s crime drama from writer-director James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari, Logan).
The film sees Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) play Freddy Heflin, a man who always dreamed of being a cop but was unable to do so after becoming deaf in one ear while saving a woman from drowning when he was younger.
Instead, he became the sheriff of the small town of Garrison in New Jersey – an area populated by a group of New York Police Department cops – including Lieutenant Ray Donlan (an effortlessly commanding Harvey Keitel) and officer Gary Figgis (a live-wire but sympathetic Ray Liotta).
Though Heflin idolises the cops and they treat him reasonably well in return, the sheriff’s loyalties become tested when a well-publicised shooting involving Donlan’s nephew and fellow cop (Michael Rapaport) brings new attention to Garrison.
This is in the form of Internal Affairs investigator Lieutenant Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro, scene-stealing in a small but pivotal role) who shows up in the town asking questions.
Featuring a packed supporting cast, many of which would wind up appearing in The Sopranos (Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Frank Vincent, John Ventimiglia and Robert Patrick to name just a few), Cop Land was a minor hit upon release - but perhaps slightly underperformed with critics and at the box office relative to expectations given the talent involved.
That said, its compellingly dense crime plot, crackling dialogue and terrific performances across the board - including a never-better Stallone - have led to the movie being re-evaluated more favourably in recent years.
In fact, we here at JOE wrote a long piece about the film to mark its 25th anniversary two years ago.
Cop Land is airing on TV tonight on ITV4 at 10.10pm. It is also currently available to stream on Netflix and Paramount+, though it is leaving the former in just a few days on Sunday, 15 September.
The Revenant - Film4 - 9pm
The movie which finally earned Leo DiCaprio his Oscar.
Moneyball - Comedy Central - 9pm
The modern classic sports drama we recommended just a few days ago.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - RTÉ2 - 9pm
Rebecca Ferguson joins the Tom Cruise action spy franchise in this solid fifth entry.
The Lawnmower Man - Sky Sci-Fi - 9pm
The ’90s sci-fi horror with Pierce Brosnan that was very, very loosely based on a Stephen King short story – so loosely in fact that it led to a lawsuit.
How to Marry a Millionaire / Designing Woman - BBC Four - 9pm / 11.20pm
It's a Lauren Bacall double bill.
Trespass - Legend - 9pm
A severely overlooked '90s action film we've also recommended before.
The Golem – Legend Xtra – 10.55pm
This Israeli period supernatural horror has an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Courier - Legend - 11pm
A critically panned 2019 action thriller with Gary Oldman and Olga Kurylenko.
Belle - BBC Two - 11.05pm
In this acclaimed 2013 British period drama, the biracial daughter (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) of a Royal Navy Captain (Matthew Goode) is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle (Tom Wilkinson) in 18th century England.
Gangs of New York - Film4 - 12.05am
We’re still waiting on the planned TV show adaptation of this Martin Scorsese-directed period crime epic.
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Explore more on these topics:
The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 84
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